Clovis Christian denied eligibility extension

October 14, 2003

By Dave Wagner

CLOVIS CHRISTIAN’S ATTEMPTS to gain accreditation and full membership in the New Mexico Activities Association are still ongoing.
CCS, which became a probationary member of the NMAA in the 2001-02 school year, wasn’t able to meet a May 1 deadline implemented last year for accreditation and thus remains ineligible for postseason competition for the 2003-04 school year.
Robert Zayas, the NMAA communications coordinator, said CCS had asked the NMAA Board of Directors for more time.
“They actually came to one of our board meetings and petitioned to get an extension, but the board didn’t approve it,” Zayas said.
Mario Martinez, Fort Sumner’s football coach and athletic director who is also the NMAA’s commission chairman, noted that the main reason for the May 1 deadline is that schools have to make schedules a year in advance.
“Basically, if they get accredited by May 1 they will be able to play (in postseason next year),” Martinez said. “The problem lies in them not having accreditation. They were anticipating a team of people coming in to give them their accreditation, and they didn’t.”
An accreditation team is scheduled to be at Clovis Christian soon, CCS superintendent Steve Medeiros said.
“They’re supposed to be here in a week or two or three,” Medeiros said, meaning late October or early November. “They were (originally) supposed to be here on Sept. 28.”
He said the process should take about three days. If it’s completed, Medeiros said the school would automatically be approved for full membership for the 2004-05 school year at the NMAA commission’s meeting during the first week of December.

FARWELL AND BOVINA appear to be contenders for a playoff berth out of Texas District 4-1A football, but they got off to markedly different starts in district play last week.
Farwell took a 5-0 record into Nazareth on Friday. But the Swifts, considered by many the team to beat in the district despite a 3-3 record, got five touchdown passes from senior Jordy Rowland and put a 36-19 hurting on the Steers.
“Rowland’s the real deal,” Farwell coach Jacob Thompson said after the game, adding that he thinks Rowland could start for a lot of Class 5A teams. “I’d put him up against anybody in the area.”
Thompson said the Steers’ plan was to try to control the ball and keep Naz’s explosive offense off the field, but it simply didn’t work out.
“We’re greatly disappointed,” Thompson said. “We felt we had the right game plan going in, but we just let it slip away.”
Bovina, on the other hand, improved to 5-2 overall with a 26-8 win over Hart. The Mustangs play at winless Springlake-Earth this week, then close the regular season at home against Naz and Farwell.
A win this week would ensure Bovina of playing for a postseason berth through its final two games, but first-year coach Kent Torbert says the tradition-rich Wolverines are more dangerous than their 0-5 record suggests.
“They’re playing awful good people, and that makes a difference,” Torbert said. “They look awful good on video, and they play good defense. We’re expecting a battle.”